The Buck Stops Here

From the book Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into the Presidency:

"Guess who's the highest paid president. You might be surprised.

Congress has been given the president a raise only five times in history, but some presidents have made a lot more than others--thanks to inflation. We've done the math to find out what their yearly salaries would be worth, on average, in twenty-first century dollars. Here's the list of the well paid and the not-so-well paid presidents.

THE TEN HIGHEST PAID

President Salary in His Day What's It Worth Now?
1. William Taft $75,000 $1,445,454
2. William McKinley $50,000 $1,106,719
3. Richard Nixon $200,000 $1,084,831
$50,000 expense act
4. Woodrow Wilson $75,000 $1,048,379
5. Theodore Roosevelt $50,000 $1,015,151
6. Grover Cleveland $50,000 $1,001,093
7. Benjamin Harrison $50,000 $984,315
8. Dwight Eisenhower $100,000 $963,253
$50,000 expense act
9. Franklin Roosevelt $75,000 $915,013
10. Herbert Hoover $75,000 $903,458

THE TEN LOWEST PAID
President Salary in His Day What's It Worth Now?
1. Bill Clinton $200,000 $282,648
$50,000 expense act
2. Andrew Jackson $25,000 $300,446
3. James Madison $25,000 $321,110
4. George H. W. Bush $200,000 $334,554
$50,000 expense act
5. John Adams $25,000 $357,543
6. Abraham Lincoln $25,000 $374,518
7. Thomas Jefferson $25,000 $378,526
8. James Monroe $25,000 $395,184
9. Ronald Reagan $200,000 $424,609
$50,000 expense act
10. George Washington $25,000 $427,314

COMPENSATION COMPENDIUM

President Grant received the first raise from Congress at the start of his second term, his salary increasing from $25,000 to $50,000. The next four presidential raises are as follows: Taft had his salary raised to $75,000; Truman, in his second term, to $100,000 plus a $50,000 expense account; Nixon to $200,000 with a $50,000 expense account; and George W. Bush to $400,000 with a $50,000 expense account.

Sometimes Congress gives the president a raise, not because he is underpaid, but because they are: traditionally, no government employee can make more than the president. Yet unlike the president, many of them have built cost-of-living increases into their salaries. When their pay starts butting up against that of the president's, they tend to become more generous.

George Washington, Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy refused their salaries.

While many presidential expenses are picked up by other departments and agencies, not all of them are: Thomas Jefferson left office owing $10,000 just for wine.

Crime doesn't pay: the two impeached presidents, Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson, are dead last on the lowest paid list. But but maybe you just have to know when to get out: President Nixon who resigned before he could be impeached, is the third highest paid president.

The list does not take into account presidential pensions, which Congress began doling out in 1958. It started at $25,000 per year and included both an office and staff. The payment is now based on the annual pay of a cabinet secretary; in 2001 this came out to $161,200.

The vice president doesn't work for free either: in 2004, the salary for the second in command is $202,900.

Each president's salary was adjusted for inflation for every calendar year in which he held office. These adjusted salaries were then averaged. Presidents since Truman have had a $50,000 expense account that was included in the list as part of the presidential salary."

My personal comment: having the presidency has to be the MOST thankless job in the universe. I don't think they get paid enough no matter what. On the other hand, I'm not even slightly surprised at Congress. They are easily the most overpaid...and get crazy periods of time off, despite their general uselessness in office.

I love that three presidents actually refused their salaries. Amazing! Most of us need at least some of our salaries if not all.

That is a LOT of wine... isn't it? Does the president get any alcohol at all? I'd want a stiff drink after a day of that once in a while...

I wonder how the taxation system works for the President... does he get a break for doing the most thankless job in the world, or just pays through the nose like the rest of us? I still wouldn't hold it against him.